Graduate Assistant for Learning Communities & Family Programs

First Year Experience

Graduate Assistant for Learning Communities & Family Programs

The Graduate Assistant for Learning Communities and Family Programs will serve as an integral part of the First Year Experience program. This position will report directly to the Coordinator of Academic Initiatives as well as work closely with the Director to assist in logistics, planning, and program components for Learning Communities and family programs. The Graduate Assistant will become familiar with all aspects and delivery of programs within the First Year Experience Office.

Applicants must meet the eligibility requirements set by the Office of Graduate Studies. As an employee of the University, the Graduate Assistant is expected to act professionally and respect FERPA confidentiality regulations. The Graduate Assistant is required to participate in appropriate training.

Start Date:

The preferred start date is May 21, 2018. The required start date is July 30, 2018. The position will be paid on an hourly basis (40 hours per week) from May through August. Beginning in September,there will be a 20-hour per week commitment through the following May (based on the Graduate Assistantship). This position will include some evening and weekend requirements. This position is open until filled.

The mission of First Year Experience at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is to provide guidance to students and their families in their transition to the campus community. We serve as a campus resource that provides engaging, inclusive, and academically integrated transitional experiences to enhance student development.

The First Year Experience focuses on four main goals: transition, connection, integration, and development.

• Transition:To provide programs and services which support a successful academic and social transition to the University.
• Connection: To empower students to connect to campus resources, peers, faculty, staff, University traditions, and the community at large.
• Integration: To provide programs and services which foster integrated curricular and co-curricular experiences.
• Development: To deliver intentional opportunities that promote academic success, intellectual curiosity, intrapersonal, and interpersonal development.

FYE provides the following programs and services:

• Warhawks SOAR (student orientation, advising, & registration)
• Warhawk Welcome (fall and spring orientation)
• Mentor Programs
• New Student Seminar
• Learning Communities
• Student Leadership (Hawk Squad, Peer Mentor, Peer Transfer Mentor, Student Crew, Purple Pit Crew)
• Family Programs (i.e., Family Fest, Newsletter, Calendar, etc.)

The American College Personal (ACPA) and National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) (2015) professional competency areas for student affairs educatorsserve as the foundation for the First Year Experience Graduate Assistant positions descriptions. The ten professional competency areas are defined as the “essential knowledge, skills, and dispositions expected of all student affairs educators” (p. 7).

TheACPA and NASPA (2015) professional competency areas for student affairs educators include:

1)Personal and Ethical Foundations (PPF)

2)Values, Philosophy, and History (VPH)

3)Assessment, Evaluation, and Research (AER)

4)Law Policy, and Governance (LPG)

5)Organizational and Human Resource (OHR)

6)Leadership (LEAD)

7)Social Justice and Inclusion (SJI)

8)Student Learning and Development (SLD)

9)Technology (TECH)

10)Advising and Supporting (A/S)

The purpose for this foundation is to support students in their graduate education to learn and develop within the professional competency areas. The competencies provide a baseline for graduate students to evaluate and reflect upon their knowledge, skills, and dispositions that directly impact their success as a student affairs educator. In addition, ACPA and NASPA (2015) provide a rubric to develop along the foundational, intermediate, and advanced levels. Each competency area is distinct, however intersections occur between the competency areas. Figure 1 (below) outlines the intersections of the 10 competency areas.

(ACPA & NASPA, 2015, p. 9)

American College Personnel Association & National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. (2015).

Professional competency areas of student affairs educators. Washington, DC: Authors. Retrieved from

Related professional competency areas identified numerically

Supervision/Advising

• Supervise student summer staff at Warhawks SOAR programs(1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10)
• Supervise spring mentors assisting with Service Learning courses(1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10)
• Recruit, train, and advise students onthe family fest student committee(1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10)

Administration

• Design, edit, and distribute the FYE family electronic newsletter (4 times a year)(2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10)
• Assist LC coordinators in preparation of events (i.e., transportation details, tickets, etc.) (5, 6, 10)
• Revise LC brochures as needed in conjunction with University Marketing and Communications (5, 6, 10)
• Oversee the operations of updating the family calendar (campus partners, UMC to print, etc.) (5, 6, 10)
• Attend regular FYE staff meetings and weekly one-on-one meetings with Coordinator of Academic Initiatives (2, 5, 6)

Event planning

• Assist in the planning of welcome events for all Learning Communities(4, 5, 6, 8)
• Organize and reserve all transportation and tickets related to LC events (4, 5, 6, 8)
• Plan and implement family fest (2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10)
• Assist with LC program recruitment at Warhawk Premiere Days
• Assist with the implementation of various FYE events: Family Fest, Learning Community Day of Service, Warhawks SOAR, Warhawk Welcome, etc. (5, 6, 8)

Leadership/Training

• Assist in the recruitment, selection, and training process for summer employees(2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10)

Budget

• Assist Coordinator of Academic Initiatives with tracking expenses and budget management(4, 6, 9)

Research

• Research new locations for off campus trips for LCs(3, 9)
• Explore new/different event management systems for registration(3, 9)
• Research best practices for learning communities and family programs(2, 3, 7, 8, 9)

Technology

• Update and maintain Facebook “Family Connections” page (2, 6, 9)
• Update and maintain LC website (sign-up function and descriptions of all LCs, FAQ page, etc.) (5, 6, 9)
• Respond to all interest collected through the housing contract (Mail Merge) and sign-ups. (5, 6, 9)
• Maintain master list of all sign-ups, removals, withdrawals (5, 6, 9)
• Update the FYE website, including registration Family Fest (5, 6, 9)

Other

• Provide excellent customer service, integrity and initiative
• Other duties as assigned to give additional support within First Year Experience

To apply for this position, please submit a letter of interest, resume, and list of 3 references to:

To ensure full consideration, submit application materials by April 15, 2018.

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

First Year Experience

University Center Suite 245: 800 W. Main St., Whitewater, WI 53190